The Parable of the Sower
Luke 8:4-39
And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:
"A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.
Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.
But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold."
When He had said these things He cried,
"He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
The Purpose of Parables
Then His disciples asked Him, saying,
"What does this parable mean?"
And He said,
"To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that
'Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand'
The Parable of the Sower Explained
"Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.
The Parable of the Revealed Light
"No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.
For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.
Therefore take heed how you hear.
For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him."
For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.
Therefore take heed how you hear.
For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him."
Jesus' Mother and Brothers Come to Him
Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. And it was told Him by some, who said,
"Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside,
desiring to see You."
But He answered and said to them,
"My mother and My brothers are these who hear
the word of God and do it."
Wind and Wave Obey Jesus
Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them,
"Let us cross over to the other side of the lake."
And they launched out. But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying,
"Master, Master, we are perishing!"
Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them,
"Where is your faith?"
And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another,
"Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water,
and they obey Him!"
A Demon-Possessed Man Healed
Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said,
"What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?
I beg You, do not torment me!"
For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.
Jesus asked him, saying,
"What is your name?"
And he said,
"Legion,"
because many demons had entered him. And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.
Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.
When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.
They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed. Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned.
Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying,
"Return to your own house,
and tell what great things
and tell what great things
God has done for you."
And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
The Power of a Right Heart
"Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him."
Jesus lays out before us all the unavoidable fact of why some people blossom and produce so much fruit in their relationship with God and others do not.
The reason is in various conditions of our hearts
when God's word falls upon it.
when God's word falls upon it.
The problem is certainly not in the intrinsic power of God's word.
Jesus described His words as being "spirit and life," words that will remain even when the heavens and earth pass away.
God's word is described by Paul the Apostle as having the intrinsic power of God to bring salvation for anyone who puts faith in it.
The impact of God's Word has nothing to do with its power but everything to do with the condition of our hearts.
Jesus tells us that the Word of God is swept away when it falls on soil packed down like asphalt from being walked on. It is the hardness of our hearts, not the weakness of God's word.
He tells us the shallow heart will never produce anything from the seeds of truth because there is not place for the roots of truth to take hold of that life.
Such hearts care for nothing but the feelings of the moment. If there's some immediate experience or emotion from the Word then it is "received."
But there's no room, no reception for that Word to actually go deep into that person's life and become a transforming force of the inner being.
Jesus tells us that the heart of a person who tries to accommodate competing masters within their own hearts have predetermined within themselves that there will be no lasting results from God's Word.
Inevitably, the lust for the pleasures and riches of this world are left as "thorns" in their hearts which choke out a passion for God.
Only the heart that is genuinely given over to God is able to provide the heart condition that the impact of God's Word can flourish
(Ps. 1:1-6).
This is the person that God will entrust more and more
revelation and insight into His Word (8:18).
This principle is so vital, so foundational, that Jesus uses it to define the basis of the intimate relationship with Him. He told His disciples that "His mother, His brothers," are those who both hear and do the Word of God (8:19-21).
What makes us genuine family with Jesus is our heart condition.
Spiritual power, a transformed life, and intimacy with God is not really that complicated. But it is demanding.
It requires that we prepare our hearts to genuinely hear and act on what we discover from the powerful, eternal, and transforming Word of God.
v. 5 a sower went out to sow his seed – One who sowed seed would strap a bag filled with seeds on his shoulder and walk amongst the fields, indiscriminately casting it out and letting it fall where it may. In this parable the seed fell on a variety of soils, each of which determined the potential of the crop it could bear. The real emphasis of this parable is on the different types of soil, rather than on the sower or even the seed.
the wayside – Either on the road which bordered the field, or on the paths which would wind through it. In either place, the soil was hard-packed down by footsteps, and thus the seed was not able to penetrate and bring forth fruit, but rather the birds would come and eat it up.
v. 6 some fell on rock – Or as Matthew and Mark write, "on stony ground;" areas upon which there was a little dirt in which the seed could grow, but not enough for a healthy root system to develop. A portion of the seed was therefore able to find soil and start to grow; and because the dirt was shallow it sprang up quickly and appeared at first to be a healthy plant capable of producing fruit for harvest. However, because the soil was shallow and could not hold the necessary moisture, the plant was not able to sustain it's growth, and withered and died soon after it appeared.
v. 7 some fell among thorns – Places where the soil was rich and capable of producing and sustaining vegetation. However, there was already other vegetation growing there which provided too much competition for the wheat plant, and it was soon choked out and died.
v. 8 good ground – The last portion of seed found soil which was abundant and had been cultivated so that it was free of rocks and competing weeds. Thus it was able to grow, thrive until the harvest, and produce a crop. Jesus points out that a healthy seed which falls on good ground will always bear a crop many times itself in size, just as one kernel of corn will produce hundreds of kernels like itself under the right conditions.
he who has ears to hear, let him hear! – Jesus emphasizes the need to have ears that are readily able to hear and comprehend God's truth. He will go on to teach that not everyone has such hearing ears, but that the choice is left up to each individual whether or not to become those that receive truth. This saying is also repeated by Jesus in each of His seven letters to the churches which are found in chapters 2 and 3 of the Book of Revelation.
v. 10 to the rest it is given in parables – The word "parable" comes from the Greek phrase "to cast alongside," and refers to a spiritual truth which is cast alongside an illustration taken from ordinarily observed life. Matthew 13:10 makes it clear that the disciples were coming to Jesus and asking Him why He spoke to the people in parables, which could be overlooked or misconstrued, rather than in the kind of plain language that everyone could understand and interpret. Jesus here answers and tells them that the truths of God's kingdom are not meant to be open to everyone's understanding or acceptance, but rather that they are only meant to penetrate into and apply to those that have the kind of seeking hearts that God is searching for. It is easy to hear with the ears, but difficult to perceive truth with the heart; and not everyone even truly wants to receive what God wants to say.
v. 11 the seed is the Word of God – The illustration of the seed in the parable is meant to refer to the Word that proceeds from the mouth of God. This could be applied to the words that Jesus was speaking at that time, or to the written Word of the Scriptures. And as a seed, a Word from God comes complete with everything it needs to grow and bear fruit, when it falls on good soil.
v. 12 those by the wayside – Seeds on this hard, packed-down dirt (described in v. 5) did not penetrate and He teaches here that the devil is often involved in the process of removing the Word of God from people's hearts, but that the conditon of hardness toward God's word is still the responsibility of that individual.
v. 13 the ones on the rock – The rocky soil illustrates the heart that is soft on the surface, but does not allow the Word to penetrate deeply, take root, and grow. These hearts appear to receive the Word with joy at first, but because it does not penetrate to the depths of the heart, when that heart is tested through trials or temptations the seed withers and dies, never bearing fruit.
v. 14 the ones that fell among thorns – The thorny ground illustrates the heart that seems to offer the seed of the Word rich and deep soil, but which also contains too many other competing concerns within it. There is initial growth, but these other plants soon choke out the Word so that it cannot bear fruit. Jesus names some of these issues, specifically warning against allowing cares (worry), riches, and the pleasures of life to overwhelm and displace the Word of God in one's life. These issues become bigger or more important than the Word, and prevent the seed from ever fully maturing and bringing forth the kind of radical changes which normally the Word of God would produce in a life.
v. 15 the ones that fell on good ground – The hearts which have been prepared and had the hardness, the rocks the weed removed receive the Word with joy, allow it take deep root are able to endure, and to produce much fruit.
v. 16 no one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel – Jesus is revealing God's heart concerning the revelation of His truth in this statement: that He desires to reveal truth to as many as will possibly receive it. God is likened to the man who lights a lamp because He desires to see its light shine, so that people may benefit from the light that it gives.
v. 17 nothing is secret that will not be revealed – From those with "ears to hear," there is no truth that will be hidden. Even though truth is often cloaked in parable or mystery, God is One Who revels in sharing His Word, and will be faithful to give understanding to those with pure, seeking hearts.
v. 18 therefore, take heed how you hear – Jesus again places the responsibility upon the part of the hearer in receiving God's truth. The duties of active listening and constant vigilance of heart are necessary requirements to those who desire to grow in understanding concerning the things of the Kingdom of God.
for whoever has, to him more will be given – Whoever exercises careful diligence in hearing and applying God's truth will always receive more truth from Him. On the contrary, to those who are careless and complacent about truth, little will be given.
v.19 his mother and his brothers – There are many New Testament passages which teach clearly that Jesus had earthly brothers and sisters (Matt. 1:25, 12:46; Mark 3:31; John 7:3; Gal. 1:19). In Matthew's account of this event he reveals that Jesus' mother and brothers were here appealing to Jesus because they were concerned about Him; Jesus had been stirring up so many people and making such powerful enemies that they were fearful He might endanger Himself and come to an untimely end.
v. 21 "my mother and brothers are these who hear the Word of God and do it" – Jesus makes a clear distinction between Himself and His earthly family, knowing that His mission was almost complete and His time on earth was short. He also lightly touches here on the priority of the spiritual family of God to the believer, by example giving preference to those that are born by the Spirit into His Body, the Church, above even His natural, earthly family.
v. 23 as they sailed He fell asleep – Jesus was physically exhausted at this point, because His ministry to the people had taken such a toll on His body. Therefore He was able to fall asleep even in a boat in the middle of a storm which was so fierce that the professional fishermen aboard were in terror of losing their lives.
v. 24 He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water – With one word Jesus was able to still the storm, and the quiet calm which suddenly resulted was as noteworthy as the wind had previously been.
v. 26 the country of the Gadarenes – Or "Gerasenes"; a city in present day Syria, it is now called "Jerash" but is mostly a deserted ruin. Here it is associated with such religiously unclean and rebellious practices as the raising of pigs (v. 32)
v. 27 who had demons for a long time – the Scriptures reveal that there are several different degrees of demonic assault to which a person may fall prey. These can range from the normal temptations which can affect every person from time to time, to chronic misery caused by habitually oppressive demonic influence in one's mind or body, to full-blown demonic possession. Here, the man was said to be fully "possessed," which means that many demons had inhabited him for a long time, and had taken control of his mind and body. They had reduced him to a pitiful state: he was naked, and lived alone in the tombs of the area. Verse 28 reveals that Verse 29 reveals that he had supernatural strength, being able to break the chains with which the people of the area had sought to bind him; also that the demon had driven him into isolation from other people.
v. 28 "Jesus, Son of the Most High God" – James 2:19 reveals that even the demons believe in God, acknowledge Who He is, and tremble. Because of the demons in him, he understood who Jesus was; His true nature, and His power over the demons. They fear Jesus as the one who will one day cast them into the lake of fire in judgment (Matt. 25:41, 2 Peter 2:4, Rev. 20:1-3, 10).
v. 30 legion – A Roman military term which designated a division of 6,000 infantry soldiers. This does not mean necessarily that the man was inhabited by 6,000 demons, but that there were a multitude of them who had taken up residence inside of him.
v. 31 into the abyss – A Greek word meaning "bottomless," most likely referring to the holding place of the dead, in which many demons are also said to be awaiting their judgment (see note on v. 28).
v. 33 drowned – Demonic activity is also at times linked in the Scripture to suicide. The two most notorious suicides in the Bible, those of King Saul and Judas Iscariot, took place after demonic involvement in their lives. Suicide is not always the result of demonic oppression, but at times may be indicative of it.
v. 35 and they were afraid – It is noteworthy that the men were more afraid of Jesus' healing and saving power than they were of the dark, demonic oppression which people in their land were evidently living under. Verse 37 reveals that they were so vexed by the deliverance which Jesus brought to this man that they begged Him to depart from them.
v. 39 return to your own house – The man begged Jesus to allow him to go on with His band of disciples, but Jesus had other desires for him. He instructed him rather to go back home and be a witness to the people that he had at one time devastated with his demonic behavior. The man obediently went and spread the news to all who were in his city, and it is noteworthy that his witness is mentioned as having born fruit in two more passages of Scripture. Mark 6:53 begins the account of Jesus' second journey to Gennesaret, the same area in which He had delivered the demon-possessed man; and this time rather than rejecting Him they were ready to receive Him gladly and even brought out all their sick that He might heal them. Also in Mark 7:31 it is mentioned that they welcomed Him in Decapolis, a region which was also named by Mark in 5:20 as the mission field of the delivered man. It is possible that none of that would have happened had the man not stayed in his own home town and spread the word of Jesus' salvation.
Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.
-Luke 8:18
God, we are all one of the soil types spoken of in the parable of the seed. We are all either good, rich soil for Your Word; thorny, weedy soil; or hard, rocky soil. Till our hearts Lord, and weed sin out of our lives, until there is nothing left but fertile earth that soaks up Your Word.
One-on-One Discipleship
Discipleship continues to teach me to step out in faith, to truly take and believe God's Word, and to be led by the Holy Spirit - Lora
Prayer Points
- for us to continue to be willing and obedient
- for discernment
